"I got a pop-eyed goldfish! It should have eaten its spinach!" —New Leaf

The pop-eyed goldfish is a rare fish in the Animal Crossing series found in the river. It sells for 1,300 Bells in Tom Nook's Store and appears all year, during the hours of 9 AM to 4 PM. Its shadow size is tiny, and it is diurnal meaning it is only found in the daylight hours.

It's rarity at the right time of the day is just about equal to that of the goldfish and the guppy, leaving the catch rate of a tiny fish in the day time at around 33% (this is excluding the common loach in spring, bitterling during winter, killifish in GCN and neon tetra in City Folk).
It is frequently one of the last fish to find in many players' games.

Contents

Donating to the museum

As with all fish caught in Animal Crossing series, the popeyed goldfish can be donated to the museum in each game by talking to Blathers, who will also give some information on it.

In Animal Crossing

Upon donation, Blathers the curator will say:

"Those adorable little fins! Those huge, googly eyes! Even I am helpless in the face of their cuteness! We will take special care of this precious fellow. Welcome to your new home, you darling little fishy!"

In Wild World

Upon donation, Blathers the curator will say:

"You should know, the eyes on the popeyed goldfish can occasionally pop out! There's nothing wrong, of course, and if you let the fish be, they go back in. Even so, the first time I witnessed it, MY eyes nearly popped out, wot wot!"

In City Folk

Upon donation, Blathers the curator will say:

"Popeyed goldfish look like any other ordinary goldfish whilst still juveniles. As they begin to mature, their eyes bulge outward and gradually assume that distinctive appearance. Imagine how appalled you'd be if you brought one home thinking it was a normal goldfish...".

In New Leaf

In New Leaf, an information board in the aquarium will list information about this fish.

"They're known for their protruding eyes, as the name indicates, but this feature is actually a detriment. Their vision is quite poor, to the point that they will swim past food and frequently bump into things. They are a type of goldfish and get their distinguishing eye pop about two months after birth."

Gallery

Further information

A real-life popeyed goldfish. They are sometimes known as Telescope Goldfish or the Black Moor.

Carassius auratus, the goldfish, a close relative to the crucian carp, has been domestically bred into an array of different shapes, sizes and colors. The Popeyed Goldfish breed is a harmless fish that once released lives in slow-flowing ponds, ditches, rivers, and lakes. It feeds off of small insects, crustaceans, and plants. It is a specially bred type of goldfish with large, protruding eyes, which to the surprise of some gives it poor eyesight as a result of heavy inbreeding.

Trivia

In Animal Crossing and New Leaf, this fish's pun references the comic strip Popeye, where the sailor named Popeye is known for eating spinach.

The horse mackerel features in the DLC quest 'Animal Crossing: Fisher King' for the game Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, where it can be caught by fishing, and it sells for 150z.